Benthochromis horii as dithers for Frontosa tank

[Milingu]

These pelagic Cypriniformes, or in case of Lake Tanganyika Clupeiformes are very susceptible to any kind of stress. It's difficult to catch them alive and unharmed, it's difficult to transport them (still a pretty rough travel from lake Tanganyika to the airport in Daressalam). And they need a lot of space = large aquarium. And all this effort and costs for feeding them to some frontosa....

 

[jjohnwm]

These pelagic Cypriniformes, or in case of Lake Tanganyika Clupeiformes are very susceptible to any kind of stress. It's difficult to catch them alive and unharmed, it's difficult to transport them (still a pretty rough travel from lake Tanganyika to the airport in Daressalam). And they need a lot of space = large aquarium. And all this effort and costs for feeding them to some frontosa....

Well, I guess that's that; thanks for explaining.

The common pelagic forage minnow (Emerald Shiner) in the Great Lakes/Detroit River corridor where I grew up was like that as well. When you bought "a dozen" for bait...they netted out around 60 or 70 fish into your bucket. Several were dead by the time you walked back to the car; half were dead by the time you actually sat down to fish.

I kept them as aquarium fish several times, and it was the same deal; bring home and carefully acclimate 100, and a week later you have maybe a dozen still alive. Admittedly, once settled in, that dozen might live for several years problem-free, as long as you didn't try to move them. If they even saw a net, scales would shower off them like confetti at a parade.

I guess true pelagic, open-water fish in big water tend towards that type of delicate nature? Not promising in terms of live shipment halfway around the world. I guess you guys are stuck with still more psycho-butthead cichlids...

 

[ken31cay]

I've pulled the trigger on getting them, pending my Dept. of Environment's approval to import. After everything I've heard and videos I've seen, I'm looking forward to having them and seeing how it goes. If they add to my Moba setup then I'll be satisfied since that's the goal. So long as they don't pose a threat to the Moba. If they don't work out for some reason or they get eaten, then I'll still be glad to have tried them and for the experience.

If all goes well then I should have them in about 6-8 weeks. I'll report back here on how things go, along with pics/vids.

 

[Bwirtz]

Excited to see this set-up as I keep Kitumba and I have been debating about adding another species. Bentho. Horii, Gnathochromis permaxilliris, and Haplotaxodon microlepis are on the short list.

 

[ken31cay]

...Gnathochromis permaxilliris, and Haplotaxodon microlepis are on the short list.

Interesting.